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Churches are among the many gathering places that have been directly impacted by this crisis. Our communities, which primarily thrive off of our Sunday gatherings, have been forced to learn a new way of existing. Churches all across the world have needed to make a drastic change over to digital.
For those who already had a hefty online presence it has simply meant adding a few more finishing touches on their digital experience, but for those who have lagged behind the digital era, it has definitely been a challenge.
Regardless, we are all in the same boat - church is truly no longer about the building, it is about the people.
You may be wondering what your church community could possibly do to connect with one another without physically gathering. That’s where the beauty of the digital experience comes in. While nothing can truly compare to physically meeting together, through the power of technology, we are able to come pretty close.
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The primary method you can take in reaching your existing community and those who you want to be a part of the community is through streaming your Sunday service. Due to the fact that gatherings over 10 people are discouraged, the majority of churches have no choice except to stream their service digitally.
This means those 10 people will probably consist of a production team, pastor, and possibly a bare bones worship team.
These Sunday gatherings pose a unique opportunity - they enable us to invite anyone and everyone we know with the click of the share button.
So those people who you keep inviting to church but always come up with an excuse? Yeah, their “prior engagements” have most likely been cancelled and their Sunday schedule is wide open.
It is truly easier than ever before to invite people to church and actually have that invitation accepted! Not sure where to even begin? All you truly need is a location to film, necessary streaming equipment, and an Internet connection.
If you really want to elevate your online experience to include interactive features, the Church Online Platform is a great place to start. This 100% free tool enables you to do more than just stream service, but it also enables you to have a real-time chat, accept prayer requests, and even recognize first-time guests.
Through the streaming of your Sunday service, you have the ability to not only reach your current church community, but dozens if not thousands of people who otherwise would never step foot in a church service.
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Another huge component of the life of most churches is weekly Bible studies, prayer gatherings, and small groups. While the suggestion of meeting in groups of 10 or less could allow for some small gatherings to happen, it is still wise to opt for a digital experience instead of gathering in a brick and mortar location.
This is where watch parties come in.
Watch parties are simply a way for you to connect and chat with one another while watching a video together. You can do this for both live and pre-recorded videos on both Facebook and YouTube.
Whatever you choose to record, you can invite people in on the conversation through the chat feature.
Another option is to go live on your Instagram. Live videos are great because not only can you encourage conversation and interaction in the comment, you can invite others to join on the live video. For example, your pastor could pop on live and invite “guests” to join the live video and conduct an interview, talk about their quarantine activities, and even pray together.
The possibilities with watch parties and live videos are endless and they both lend room for professionally filmed videos or in-home, selfie-mode live videos. And similar to the Sunday experience, you can invite people to join the watch party or live video and partake in the conversation.
A pressing concern on many churches' minds is undoubtedly how the shift to digital is going to affect their giving. The majority of churches have already added online giving options, but for those who have not, now is the time since giving in person (excluding checks in the mail) is currently not an option.
Giving can already be a tough subject to tackle, especially giving during an impending economic recession. But now is the time for the church to rise up and express generosity more than ever before. And that generosity begins with a mission.
People give to mission. People give to something they believe in and care deeply for. Make no mistake, the mission of the church has not changed, it has actually become more urgent. We are still called to care for the poor, the orphan, the widow, and the downtrodden.
During this time of crisis, there are thousands in need due to lack of income, illness, and a shortage of resources. The need to care for those who are going without is greater than ever before. And the church must act.
Something you can do digitally to support this mission of generosity is to challenge your community to give despite the uncertainty.
Encourage them to share their resources, not hoard them.
A great way to do this is to set up a fund through your online giving platform that goes directly to those with specific needs in your community. PushPay has a simple online-giving method that allows you to set up special funds for special missions.
In addition to this, create a call to action via your social media for people to donate food to a local shelter or give a cash donation to a food bank or family in need.
Watch and be amazed as your congregation chooses to express generosity even in the midst of their own financial uncertainty.
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It can be intimidating if you are a smaller church to tackle this move to digital church, especially if you don’t have the resources or man-power to sustain a high-quality digital service and overall presence.
The simple solution? Just be you.
You don’t need a high quality production studio or flawless audio to connect with your community - you just need you and a working smartphone.
A great way to be present in the digital sphere while still maintaining genuine connection is through personal digital conversations and interactions.
This can especially go a very long way when the lead pastor, staff member, or other key leader is the one hosting a live video or watch party. This opens the door for your community to interact with your church’s leadership in a way they may never have before.
Simply go live, open the comment section up to comments, conversation, prayer requests, and more. Your community will appreciate being able to directly connect to the pastor and leadership.
Something else you can do is host live worship on the social media of your choice and invite people to join in.
Don’t be afraid to be real, unfiltered, and transparent online. We are in a time where everything has, in a sense, been stripped away from us including our value on perfect appearance. Now is the time to get more “real” than you ever have.
Your community will tune in, and who knows, maybe the skeptic and unbeliever will tune in too.
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Along these lines of transparency and personal interaction is valuing organic outreach. You should absolutely be pouring some resources into promoting your content through paid advertising, but you should also focus on utilizing organic outreach.
What does this look like? It simply means that everyone in your community gets involved.
It used to be difficult to evangelize and invite people to church, but now spreading the Gospel of Jesus is everyone’s responsibility.
Everyone has the ability to be a digital evangelist.
Encouraging key leaders and staff to share the church’s posts, interact on watch parties, and invite others to join in on what the church is doing will truly go a long way.
Through true, organic outreach, we can reach people on a personal level and get to know them in a real way that has the potential to last far beyond this crisis.
Digital church used to be merely a possible option, but it is now the primary way we are able to connect during this global pandemic. As much as we may not prefer the digital way of things, we must learn to embrace it and tap into its immense potential to make a significant impact for the Kingdom.
In just the click of your mouse or tap of your finger, you have the ability to invite people into a life-changing experience. Whether that be through a Sunday service, encouraging watch party, acts of generosity, a transparent conversation, or personal connection, you can make an immense impact through the digital sphere!
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